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Leonardo da Vinci

Leonardo da Vinci

Leonardo Da Vinci was born in 1452 in Vinci, near Florence, the first of 13 children of his father Piero, a notary public. He was an illegitimate son, his father married four times and his brothers prevented him when he died of the inheritance. The mother, of humble origins, married another man and had 9 daughters. He was educated in the house of his paternal grandparents, in the Tuscan countryside, then became a pupil of Andrea del Verrocchio, friend of his father, in Florence, in 1470, where he learned notions of drawing, painting, sculpture, as well as architecture, engineering, mechanics and carpentry.

Other students of the great master were Sandro Botticelli, Perugino, Domenico Ghirlandaio. In 1472 he was already an independent painter, but he continued to collaborate with his master for many years. From 1474 to 1478 he probably devoted himself to science, human anatomy, physics and mechanics. He began to attend the house of the Medici, probably thanks to his master and in 1482 he left for Milan probably through Lorenzo the Magnificent. He entered the circle of Ludovico il Moro, also worked at the Castello Sforzesco and dedicated himself to the preparation of a large equestrian sculpture to Francesco Sforza.

In 1499 the French conquered Milan and Leonardo returned to Florence and travelled long, in 1500 to Venice, then Cesena, Pavia, Urbino, returned to Florence in 1503 and painted La Gioconda. In 1504 his father died, excluding him from the inheritance. He devoted time and energy to the study of flight.

His relationship with Michelangelo, who was more than twenty years younger, was difficult and full of rivalry. The French governor of Milan convinced him to return to Milan in 1508 and remained there until 1513. In 1512 the Sforza regained their dominance over the city and Leonardo went to Rome. In Bologna he met Francis I of France. In 1517 Leonardo accepted the invitation of Francis I and went to France, to Amboise, in the Castle of Clos-Lucé, with the title of "Premier peintre, architecte, et mecanicien du roi" continuing peacefully to paint, work and study, until his death in 1519.